e cyclic character: it told of the
resistance of the south of France to the Mussulmans. The last cycle
to develop was that of the Crusades. Certain poems or groups of poems
may be distinguished as _gestes_ of the provinces, including the
_Geste des Lorrains_, that of the North (_Raoul de Cambrai_), that
of Burgundy, and others.[4] Among these may be placed the beautiful
tale of _Amis et Amiles_, a glorification of friendship between man
and man, which endures all trials and self-sacrifices. Other poems,
again, are unconnected with any of these cycles; and, indeed, the
cyclic division is more a convenience of classification than a fact
in the spontaneous development of this form of art. The entire period
of the evolution of epic song extends from the tenth or eleventh to
the fifteenth century, or, we might say, from the _Chanson de Roland_
to the _Chronique de Bertrand Duguesclin_. The eleventh century
produced the most admirable work; in the twelfth century the chansons
are more numerous, but nothing was written of equal merit with the
Song of Roland; after the death of Louis VII. (1180) the old epic
material was rehandled and beaten thin--the decadence was already
in progress.

[Footnote 4: The epopee composed in Provencal, sung but not
transcribed, is wholly lost. The development of lyric poetry in the
South probably checked the development of the epic.]

The style in which the _chansons de geste_ are written is something
traditional, something common to the people and to the time, rather
than characteristic of the individual authors. They show little of
the art of arranging or composing the matter so as to produce an unity
of effect: the narrative straggles or condenses itself as if by
accident; skill in transitions is unknown. The study of character
is rude and elementary: a man is either heroic or dastard, loyal or
a traitor; wholly noble, or absolutely base. Yet certain types of
manhood and womanhood are presented with power and beauty. The feeling
for external nature, save in some traditional formulae, hardly
appears. The passion for the marvellous is everywhere present: St.
Maurice, St. George, and a shining company, mounted on white steeds,
will of a sudden bear down the hordes of the infidel; an angel stands
glorious behind the throne of Charlemagne; or in narrative of Celtic
origin angels may be mingled with fays. God, the great suzerain, to
whom even kings owe homage, rules over all; Jesus and Mary are wat